


Belonging

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-08
Updated: 2010-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-07 00:15:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marcus Flint takes Katie Bell as a war prisoner, but doesn't plan on actually <i>caring</i> what happens to her...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Trap Is Sprung

They hadn't been able to use the Room of Requirement, so Katie Bell and some of the former DA members had to make do with an abandoned ballroom in an unused hallway. They took turns being the lookout and helping to instruct the younger students in defending themselves against curses. They all dressed in their former school uniforms, the better to blend in. It was Katie's turn teaching when the alert was sounded. The children scattered, terrified, and Katie did her best to try to round them up to escape the ballroom in an orderly fashion. Four Death Eaters entered the ballroom, stunning students left and right. Katie fell face first to the battered stone floor, seeing their lookout being frogmarched into the ballroom at wandpoint. "Round them up!" one of the voices shouted. "I want every last one!"

"That one's not a student," another voice intoned. Though she couldn't see anything, her spine still crawled. She wasn't a student anymore, though she wasn't the only one that wasn't a student anymore in the ballroom. It didn't have to be her.

But she was hauled up to her feet roughly by the back of her neck, and then handed over to another Death Eater she couldn't see. "Throw her in with the others, then."

"Weren't we supposed to get trophies at some point?" that other voice drawled. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Katie was too terrified to place it. Too many people she had gone to school with had joined Death Eater ranks. Some believed in the Dark Lord's vitriol, some just thought they would win and didn't want to be left behind and crushed beneath his boot heel.

A third voice laughed. "Go on, then. You want that one?"

Katie could feel the Death Eater behind her shrug. "Sure. Why not?"

The first voice laughed, a cruel edge to it. "We know what she's good for, at least. She's not some scrawny thing like that Lovegood girl."

Katie's blood ran cold, but she couldn't do anything. She was still Stunned and helpless.

"Lovegood is crazy," the voice behind her drawled. "Just as well she's locked away at Malfoy Manor. Someone might actually take her seriously otherwise."

"You going to take that one now, then?"

"Why not?" he drawled, giving Katie a shake. "This was my last round before going in for the night anyway."

The others snickered. "The students will go for detention," one voice said. "The others will get thrown in the dungeons until someone decides to take a shine to them."

"Or they die of starvation," another snickered.

Katie was dragged off somewhere, but she couldn't tell where she was. She was still in the castle, at least. She was still in Hogwarts. Surely they wouldn't kill her there? She was shoved up against a wall, and the stunning spell was lifted. She sucked in a deep breath and made to turn around. "Don't," the Death Eater said sharply. "Stand there, arms up against the wall, there."

Katie pressed her forehead against the stone and tried not to wonder what kind of spell she would be hit with next. "What do you want, then?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound as terrified as she felt.

"Take off that robe," the voice said, much closer to her than she remembered. Shivering, she did so. "Not so brave now, little Gryffindor?" the voice taunted. It was so damnably familiar, though she couldn't place it. She nearly jumped out of her skin as he brushed her dark hair off of the back of her neck. His breath on her neck made her shiver. "Do you know what it means to be a captive here?" Katie shook her head, eyes sliding shut. She'd heard stories, of course, each more exaggerated than the last. "I can do whatever I want, Bell."

He knew who she was. That couldn't be good. "So what do you want?" she asked, voice raw.

"You don't recognize my voice, do you?" he asked, amused. She nearly jumped when his hands came down onto her hips, fingers right over her hipbones. "And I heard you had a crush on me before I left this damnable place for good."

Her breath caught. She'd been teased mercilessly her fourth year for having a silly crush on Marcus Flint. Alicia and Angelina had thought it was hilarious, and the twins definitely hadn't let it go. It hadn't been the same the following year; Flint's replacement didn't have any sense for verbal sparring the way Flint had.

"No answer?" he asked, mouth right by her ear. His hand slid across her stomach, and she trembled. "Maybe this is what you've always wanted, then?"

It had been, not that she had ever admitted to anyone. "What do you want, then, Flint?" she asked, keeping her face pressed to the stones. She didn't want to have to see his face, if he was leering at her or if he was planning on taking her by force.

He pulled up her shirt and touched the skin of her stomach. "I could have whatever I want," he said, lips by her ear. "You don't understand what it means to be a Death Eater's prisoner, do you? I could do whatever I liked. I could hurt you, I could kill you. I could do whatever I want." His breath was warm against her skin, and she shivered. He slid his fingers across the smooth plane of her stomach. "The question is, what do _you_ want?" He laughed as she jumped at his touch. "Rumors all said this is what you wanted from me."

Katie could feel the blush rising along her cheeks. Maybe it had been, but right now she'd like to stay alive. Telling him as much might not serve any purpose, but it was the truth. "I want to walk out of here."

Marcus laughed roughly, hand pressed against her stomach. "Not likely, Bell. Try again."

She could barely think, the way he was pressed up against her back, the way his hand felt over her stomach, the way his breath was hot against her ear. She might have moaned, since he chuckled and brought his other hand to cup a breast outside of her clothing. Now she definitely moaned, mouth falling open at the sensation. "F-Flint," she gasped, arching into his touch.

"Anyone ever touch you here?" he asked, sliding his hand beneath the waistband of her skirt. She shook her head as his fingers moved over her knickers, which were growing damp. He chuckled, and Katie shivered in his embrace, her hands moving slightly across the stone. "I take it you're not opposed to this, then?"

"No," she whispered, almost ashamed of herself. She should be trying to get out so she can get the other children out of detention, not enjoying how Marcus made her feel.

"So no one touched you this way, then?" he asked, sliding his fingers across her damp knickers. She shook her head again, not trusting her voice. He took her earlobe between his teeth. "Do you want me to?"

Katie shivered again and let her eyes slide closed. "Yes," she whimpered. She should be figuring out where she was in the castle. She should be figuring out a way to save the children from detention with the Carrows. But all she could think of was the scrap of damp fabric between his fingers and her core, and the hand that was kneading her breast through her clothes. "Please," she whimpered, tilting her hips against his hand, trying to ignore the pleased chuckle behind her.

Marcus moved his hand to slide his fingers inside her. Katie gasped at the contact, her body jerking slightly in his arms. Marcus began to move his fingers slowly, as she was tight and virginal for all that she was getting slick with desire. Marcus moved his other hand beneath her shirt and slid his fingers beneath her bra to play with the nipple. She gasped, arching her back to press her breast into his palm. He smiled against her neck as he dragged his wet fingers across her clit. She gasped, making a soft mewling sound, her fingers nearly clawing at the stone wall. He didn't let up his stroking, and she made little gasping mewling sounds. He bit the sinew of her neck gently, and she groaned. "Tell me what you want, Bell," he whispered against her skin. "What do you want from me?"

"M-more," she gasped, pushing against his hand, nearly twisting in his arms. She shivered, gasping for breath, whimpering at the contact. He thrust his fingers back inside of her, and she made a mewling noise, her head thrown back against his shoulder. Her hands scrabbled against the stone for purchase, but Marcus was practically keeping her upright. He moved them inside of her roughly, and she made a strangled cry of pleasure. He could feel her inner muscles tighten around his fingers, could hear her pants grow closer together. She made incoherent noises that sent his cock twitching, and he took her earlobe between his lips and sucked on it. "Oh!" Katie cried, arching up against him, her entire body tightening. She let out a cry as she came, trembling in Marcus' embrace.

Marcus smirked at how boneless she seemed in his arms. He was sure that wasn't what she expected of him, but couldn't quite care. When he had first heard the rumors of little Katie Bell having a crush on him (always with those snide Beauty and Beast comments, always), he had started paying attention to her. He might not have otherwise tried to differentiate her from the other Gryffindor Chasers, but after hearing that, he couldn't help but notice her. Her eyes lingered maybe a touch too long, and she was always trading snide comments on the pitch. But she never treated him any differently than before, never gave any hint of having a silly girl's crush. Marcus had always wondered what she would have been like if she had ever gotten up the nerve to say something about it.

Katie leaned against the cool stones, struggling for breath. His hands were still on her, still tangled inside her clothes and inside of her. She kept her eyes shut, not sure she wanted to see the smug look that had to be on his face. She could feel the press of his erection through their clothes, and wondered if he was planning on using it or if he was done with her.

When her breathing seemed to even out, Marcus untangled himself from her clothes and tugged them straight. "How did you get yourself mixed up in all this?"

_Now_ he asked this? Katie turned slightly, finding his arms on either side of her, pinning her in place. "Someone had to teach them how to protect themselves," she murmured, not quite able to meet his eyes. She wasn't sure what he was going to do with her. She wasn't harmed, but the stories circulating on Potterwatch weren't always how it had actually happened. They usually didn't convey the actual horror involved in situations, didn't go into detail but merely hinted at the depredations of the Death Eater raids. She flinched as his hand came down to her shoulder, grasping it tightly. He Accio'ed her robes to him, and she knew her wand was inside the lining of her sleeve. If she could just...

He smirked at her. "Oh, I think I'll keep this," he intoned, draping the robe over his arm. She could only watch as he took her wand and slipped it inside his own robes, right against his chest. "It wouldn't be right to leave you with your wand, now would it?"

"I won't tell if you won't," she said hopefully, finally looking up at his expression. It was closed off and difficult to read.

His eyes traveled over her entire face before settling on her mouth. "I don't think so," he said with a small smile. "I have other plans for you."

Katie's stomach dropped out from under her. "You do?" she squeaked. She wanted to kick herself for that, for admitting she was afraid and not nearly as brave as she should have been.

He apparated them out of the castle, which left Katie stunned. "You shouldn't be able to do that! No one can apparate on the school grounds!"

Marcus smirked at her. "Headmasters always have privilege, and they can determine who's exempt. And right now, any Death Eater can move freely on school grounds."

She looked around when he let go of her. They were in a bedroom that didn't look anything like the Hogwarts dorms. There was a massive four poster bed in the center of the room, with cream colored linens and coverlet. The walls were a light tan color, and the carpet was a deep forest green. The furniture was all of dark woods matching the bed. Katie looked from it to Marcus' almost predatory gleam. "What are you going to do to me?"

He slowly began to strip his clothes off, his eyes locked to hers. Blushing slightly, she didn't dare let her eyes drop down from his. She backed away from him when he advanced toward her, and she wound up tumbling down onto the bed. She shimmied backward, and he grasped her hips, fingers hooking around the waistband of her skirt. He pulled it off, dragging her soaked panties with it. Katie gasped as he knelt over her on the bed, as he swiftly unbuttoned her blouse. She caught his wrists and tried to push them back. "Don't," she whimpered, trembling. She was near tears and almost ashamed of the intense fear that just shot through her. "Please don't do this," she pleaded as he opened her blouse.

Marcus took in her fear, her trembling form beneath him. He glowered at her, jaw set. She flinched at the sight of it, and he promptly got off the bed. Without a word, he scooped up his clothing, taking both his wand and hers, and then slammed the door on his way out. She heard the click of a lock on the door; he must have set spells on it.

Katie shivered and pulled her blouse shut as she sat up. What had just happened? She stepped into her skirt and then tried the door anyway. Locked. She shivered harder, leaning against the door. She felt herself slide down to the floor, and wrapped her arms around herself and let her eyes fall shut. She didn't understand what had happened or why he had seemed so angry. She was glad that she was still alive, at least. There had to be a reason for that. If she could only just figure it out, maybe she could find a way back to the DA at Hogwarts.

***  
***


	2. Opening The Door

A house elf came at mealtimes and provided changes in clothing. The dressers in the room had been filled with men's clothing, so Katie assumed that she was in Marcus' bedroom. There was an attached bathroom to the bedroom, which probably explained why the bedroom door remained locked and no one but the house elf checked in on her. There was nothing to do but sit in his room, look out of the sealed window or count out his clothes. She had tried banging on the door or using a chair to smash open the window, but it hadn't worked. She tried the chair on the door, but that didn't work either. If anything, it broke the chair leg where it attached to the seat. Petulantly, Katie had kicked the door. She hoped she hadn't broken a toe in the process as she hopped back to the bed and sat down on it.

She was bored out of her mind, which was probably the worst possible torture that Marcus could have come up with. At that point, she might have said or done anything just to give a little variety to her day.

The door opened after four days. Katie had been sitting cross legged on top of the bed, elbows on her knees and chin propped up on one hand as she stared at her reflection in the mirror over the dresser facing the bed. She straightened as Marcus strode into the room, peeling off an outer robe soaked in blood. With a squeak, she leapt off of the bed. "What in Merlin's name have you done?" she cried, horrified at the sight of it.

He looked at her grimly. "You don't want to know."

Katie stood there uncertainly in the red dress the house elves had provided. Once they whisked the school uniform away, it had never returned. She was in a dress that she normally would have worn to an informal dinner party among friends, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd been to one. Probably long before she had graduated school. She twisted her hands in the skirt of the dress. "What now, then?"

He had a fierce expression as he stalked toward her. Katie backed up into the wall, and he had her cornered. "Do you honestly think I'm going to hurt you?" he asked, affronted.

"I don't know," she told him honestly, feeling her knees shake. "There's stories..."

"Of people who aren't me," he told her flatly. She flinched, and pressed herself into the wall. "Did I hurt you?" Katie shook her head. "Why do you suppose that is?" he asked, voice soft and his eyes fixed on her pale, frightened face.

"You haven't figured out what you're going to do with me yet," Katie stammered. "Maybe you don't know where you'll put my body." Her voice cracked on the last word.

Marcus cupped her face in his hand, surprisingly gentle. "Do you really think I'd kill you?"

Katie bit her lip. "I don't know. I never knew you that well before."

He slid a hand down along the side of her body, feeling her shiver at his touch. "And if you ever said anything before, I would've had you at Hogwarts, and you would know I wouldn't kill you."

She looked at him with a troubled gaze. "Why?"

Marcus brought his hand down from her face, trailing it across her jaw and letting it rest on her breast. His other hand tugged the hem of her skirt up. "Do you need to ask?"

Katie's breath caught as she felt his fingers on the bare skin of her thigh. "You hardly know me," she whispered. "You never..."

"I'm four years older than you, Bell. Do you think I would've done anything to a child?"

She shook her head and felt his hand glide up to her hip beneath the skirt of the dress. "Flint, do you plan on keeping me locked in here forever?"

"Depends," he said, moving his hand from her breast to the back of her head. He tilted it back slightly, his fingers tangled in her hair. "Do you plan on being difficult?"

"I'm Gryffindor. It's part of the House description."

He smiled at her cheek, then kissed her fiercely on the mouth. She made a soft mewling sound, her hands fisted in his shirt. Marcus moved to grasp her hips with both hands and lifted her up. She made a startled noise and clutched at him, scared she would fall. Once her legs were wrapped about his waist, Marcus carried her over to his bed and laid her down carefully on top of it. He broke the kiss to start peeling off his layers of black clothing. Only his outer robes had been soaked in blood, and Katie was almost too scared to ask whose it was. "Take off your dress," he said as he undid his belt. He was amused by the blush rising in her cheeks, by the way she turned away slightly. She shook her head, shivering. "Then I'll take it off for you."

Katie sucked in a breath as he knelt down on the bed beside her, stark naked. He undid the ties at the back of the dress and pushed it down from her shoulders. She didn't have a bra, and he slid his hands around to her front to cup them in his hands. He pressed his lips to the nape of her neck, and she shivered at the touch. Her nipples were pebbling under his palms, her breath was growing ragged. "It seems you like it when I'm in control, hm?" he asked, lips just above her pulse point.

She wanted to retort something witty, but her mind had short circuited. It was more that he felt amazing when he touched her, that she could believe then that he wasn't going to hurt her. Otherwise, she kept remembering stories she had heard on Potterwatch or read between the lines in the Prophet. When he touched her like this, she could believe that he didn't want to hurt her. "It's that you really aren't going to hurt me," she murmured after a moment, eyes sliding shut as he pushed the dress down to her waist. "There are so many people hurt or dying out there."

Marcus slid one hand down her stomach and slid it beneath the waistband of her knickers. "You won't be one of them."

"Why me?" she asked as his fingers found her center.

_You belong to me. You've always belonged to me,_ he thought fiercely, sliding a finger inside of her. She gasped, arching back against him. "I've watched out for you for a long time," he murmured. "And you seem to continually get yourself into trouble."

Katie gasped as he rolled a nipple around the fingers of one hand and as he began to thrust his other finger in and out of her tight sheath. She hadn't known he had kept watch over her. She hadn't known he had even noticed her off of the pitch. As far as he knew, she had just been this annoying Chaser who had taunted him mercilessly on the pitch. He had practically knocked her from her broom on several occasions, though at one point she had thought he had helped her right herself again. Perhaps he had.

"I didn't mean to," she gasped, reaching behind her for him. She threaded her fingers through his hair and held on while he worked her body mercilessly. She rocked against his hand, head lolling back on his shoulder. She moaned, head thrown back as his fingers slid inside her and his thumb hit her clit just right. She cried out and couldn't even summon up outrage at his satisfied chuckle. Her hands tightened on him as she gasped, moaning something that might have been his name. She came, pulsing around his finger, her hands clenched tight around his shoulders for balance. He didn't let up his stroking, and she made little gasping mewling sounds. He shifted position on the bed so that he could guide her to the bed while he knelt beside her. Hand still moving inside of her and on her clit, he used his other hand to draw the dress down past her hips. He grinned as she helped to kick it off of her legs and splayed them wide for him.

"Good girl," he murmured, repositioning her. She arched up as he slid a second finger inside of her, stretching her, his thumb at her clit. He bent down and took a breast into his mouth, and Katie made a soft choking sound of pleasure. She grasped his shoulder with the arm closest to him. The other had the coverlet clutched in her fist almost desperately. He sucked on her breast, tongue swirling about the nipple pebbling between his lips. Katie nearly arched up off of the bed when he sucked on it gently, crying out in pleasure. She made soft mewling noises, clawing at him, bucking beneath him and pressing her mouth against his neck as she struggled for breath. And then she was coming again, inner muscles clamping down hard on his fingers as she cried out. Marcus kept working his finger inside her, thumb at her clit. He stroked her in small circles, then back and forth. Katie made muffled mewling noises, hips canted up toward his hand, body writhing beneath his mouth and hand. She came again with a sharp cry.   
Now he moved to kneel between her spread legs, though he made no move to enter her. "Marcus?" she whispered, feeling it would be silly to call him by his last name after all that.

He ran his hands over her belly and breasts. "What do you want, Katie," he asked, voice infinitely patient. "I won't even move unless you want it just as badly."

Katie whimpered, grasping his hand at her breast. "Please, Marcus. I _need..._ I don't even know. I need you."

Marcus grasped her hips and plunged into her to the hilt, all at once. She let out a strangled cry of pain, and he stilled. "Katie?"

"Wasn't expecting that," she murmured, reaching out to grasp his arms tightly. She let out a breath and forced herself to relax. "Not so bad, just didn't expect it."

He leaned down over her and moved slowly, sliding the length of him in and out of her slowly. She looped her arms around his back and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Her body adjusted to the feel of him inside her, the feel of him moving, the stretch inside of her and having her legs about his waist. Katie whimpered and panted as it began to feel almost good, her body tightening around him. He groaned and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Katie," he groaned, thrusting harder into her. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and gasped, making a soft noise as he picked up speed and thrust harder into her. He let out a groan as he came, then collapsed on top of her.

Katie wasn't sure what he would want to do with her, so she was surprised when he bundled her off to his bathroom for a shower. He pushed her up against the tile and kissed her beneath the shower head. She gasped as he picked her up and thrust into her. Katie clutched at him for balance, warm water sluicing down around her. Marcus all but growled he came, then leaned against her. She whimpered when he withdrew, but Marcus slid his hand down to slide his fingers inside of her. She grasped the tiles for balance, nearly falling when she came, his name on her lips. He pulled her to her feet, then kissed her again. "I have to go out again. I'll see you soon."

He was already dressed and gone by the time Katie stumbled out of the shower, a towel wrapped tightly around her. His bloody robes were already gone, and a house elf laid out a green dress and matching underthings on the bed. It disappeared as soon as it noticed her. Frowning at the empty room, Katie got dressed and tried the door again.

This time, it opened.

***  
***


	3. Empty Shells

Katie peeked down the hallway, but there was no indication where it was. She would assume she was in Flint Manor, but she had never been there before. Picking a random direction, Katie walked down the hallway. She eventually found her way to a staircase down, which she took. There was a large portrait at the base of the staircase of a couple and four sons. The youngest was a younger version of Marcus. It only served to highlight how little she knew about him.

"Ah. And you must be Kathleen."

Katie whirled around and faced an older version of the woman in the painting. Marcus' mother. "I go by Katie, actually."

"Ilona Flint," she said, grasping Katie's hands. "Marcus mentioned he brought a friend home. It's very dangerous, you understand. Come, let's have tea."

"Marcus? Is he here?"

Something in her expression shifted before she shook her head. "Oh, no. He's very busy. But he always makes sure to visit me every few days. He's a very good boy. A very good boy."

Katie let her mouth shut instead of asking all of the questions she would have wanted to ask. Something didn't seem quite right about Ilona Flint. "Of course he is," she said soothingly. "Tea sounds lovely."

Ilona led her to the parlor, where there was a roaring fire going even though the room was oppressively warm. It was richly decorated, though Katie couldn't help but notice the distinct absence of anything over the fireplace. An empty hook hung there. "Was there a painting there?" she asked.

Ilona poured the tea for both of them. "Take a scone, dear. They were just made, and are best when fresh." When Katie didn't move, Ilona looked up, eyes hard. "Take a scone."

Katie took it abruptly, though she made no move to eat it. "The room is lovely," she offered, hoping it would calm her down. So much for Marcus saying she would be safe...

"Of course. My late husband prided himself on the family estate. Pride for the architecture, as if he had built it himself," Ilona said with a girlish titter. "Quite maddening, he was."

"Mrs. Flint, where does Marcus go?"

"Oh, he has his business to do. There's no need to worry about it. He's a busy boy, and he always makes sure to come back every few days so I won't have to worry about him."

"Is his business something to worry over? I have to admit I don't know what he does," Katie lied, smiling sweetly at the woman. She looked to be in her mid sixties, if not older.

"Oh, just _business,"_ Ilona replied vaguely, waving her hand around. "Like his father and brothers before him. They have to do so much for our Lord, and there are so many responsibilities. Marcus has so many things to do now that it's just him."

"It is?" Katie asked, taking a sip of the tea after Ilona did. Ilona seemed harmless enough at times, but at others, she seemed completely batty. Katie didn't trust her for a moment.

"Oh, yes. First Pierce died, nasty business there, we shan't talk about it," Ilona said firmly. "And then there were our boys," she murmured. Her eyes were glassy as if remembering something, and she trailed off.

"The boys?" Katie prompted after several minutes of silence.

"Phineas, Nathan, Terence and Marcus," Ilona said, turning her attention to Katie. "Our boys are such good boys. Very polite and well mannered. Always eager to help their father with his duties. Phineas took over, of course. And Nathan and Terence. And now it's Marcus' turn, the poor boy. He has so much to do on his own. Five Flint men and now it's all on his shoulders, no one to bear the load with him," Ilona murmured, shaking her head. Katie was almost afraid to break the spell. "It's so difficult for him, you realize. He was here with me when Pierce was killed." Ilona patted Katie's knee and shook her head, as if merely saying they were out of scones. "The others were away, of course. There were missions to do, and our Lord wanted Marcus to start early. He was just a boy, you know, a very young boy." Ilona sipped her tea, her eyes glassy. "So much blood. I didn't know there was that much blood in a body. Pierce defied our Lord for the first and last time, but Marcus was allowed to wait until he finished his schooling. Poor dear managed to fail once, but it would have been too suspicious to do it too often."

"He repeated a year," Katie murmured, stunned. He endured everyone taunting him for being thick enough not to show up for his NEWTs the year before. Now she felt sorry for her own jibes at him on the pitch during his second seventh year. Maybe that was why he stared at her so much, eyes dark and glittering as he looked at her.

"Yes. Poor dear. It was the fastest way to delay the inevitable, but he couldn't use that ruse for long. They know he's not an imbecile. He cleaned up after his father, after all, no sign of any blood in the hall." Ilona's smile was vacant, and Katie was frozen in place. "Poor dear. He never did find all of Phineas. Nathan had been killed by the killing curse, he told me. He wouldn't tell me what happened to Terence, no matter how much I begged him to." Ilona's eyes sharpened as she took in Katie's pale face. "For the best, my dear. It was all for the best. Many of the old families weeded out the weaker children. Only the strong ones inherit, after all. Everyone else is ground to dust."

"I see," Katie murmured when it seemed that Ilona wanted her input. "And that happened here?"

"Well, nothing else for it. He's such a good boy. He checks in every few days so I know how he is and that the Manor grounds are still secure. He's all there is between us and the darkness waiting." Ilona patted Katie's knee in a friendly manner. "Kathleen, was it?"

"Katie," she corrected gently.

"Of what family are you?" Ilona asked, picking up a scone and some cream. "Kathleen is such a lovely name. You should use it properly."

"I'm Katie Bell."

"The Bell family. Lovely Pure folk, correct?" Ilona didn't even wait for Katie to agree. "The youngest didn't have her coming out ball, if I remember correctly. Pity."

Katie hadn't thought so. It was going to be the same weekend as the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw match, which was infinitely more important to her. Luckily, her parents didn't think much of the tradition anyway.

"Many of the old line families aren't conforming as much to tradition anymore," Ilona lamented, shaking her head. "All this talk of blood mixing, of stripping the old families of properties and distributing inheritances to those that shouldn't have them, opening ourselves to persecution like in the Dark Ages... These are Dark Times, indeed, Kathleen. I'm so glad that my Marcus is trying to keep out of that."

"What did he say about that?" she asked carefully, sipping at her cold tea.

"You were in trouble," she said, waving her hand about vaguely. "Likely killed if he hadn't intervened. Or worse. There's always so much worse. My daughters-in-law... Well, it isn't meet to talk about them this way, when they're not here to defend themselves."

"Daughters-in-law?" Katie echoed. The one painting with the intact Flint family had been with only the four boys. It was likely before the others had married.

"Velma and Constance. Dear girls. Marcus took care of it, I'm sure. Terence might have helped. Or did that happen after he disappeared?" Ilona shook her head. "I'm not certain. So difficult to tell time from day to day to day sometimes."

"I haven't seen any clocks or calendars, but I haven't had a formal tour," Katie told her. It felt as if the entire Manor had been ripped out of time, suspended in a place where nothing could impact on the remnants of the family ever again.

"We should rectify that," Ilona told her, abruptly putting her teacup down. "You should know where everything is."

Katie was then swept up on a grand tour of the Manor. The ground floor held the parlor, the formal dining room, the informal dining room, the library, the music room, the receiving room with the large fireplace and Floo powder, the ballroom, the greenhouse, the sun room and the area of the house where the kitchens and mudroom were. The upper floor held all of the twenty bedrooms, each with their own attached bathroom. "Twenty?" she had asked, surprised.

Ilona had looked at her with a vague expression. "We used to have such parties. Such balls. Pierce was a wonderful dancer, waltzing about the room. Such a beautiful man." Then, as if she had forgotten Katie was even there, she turned and descended to the first floor and headed to the parlor. "Apple! Is it not tea time? I shall have my tea in the parlor!" she called out.

A house elf had already whisked away the old tea arrangement. A new one, Apple, brought in a new set. Katie could see a new pattern in the china, a delicate floral arrangement that looked like a set her mother had as well. Ilona stared at the set, at the two teacups presented. "Apple, has my son come to visit today? Will he be taking tea with me?"

"Mistress has a guest behind her," Apple squeaked.

Ilona turned and brightened at the sight of Katie. "Of course! Kathleen!"

"Katie," Katie repeated, even if it was futile.

"Of course, of course," Ilona murmured, nodding. "Apple, pour the tea for Miss Katie and I. She is my son's betrothed, is she not?" Ilona smiled fondly at Katie, not noticing the way she became so still and pale at the words. "My son has such a beautiful girl. Phineas was always such a ladies' man. Took after my dear husband in that way," Ilona said, gesturing toward a seat on the couch beside her. "Please, do sit down, Miss Katie. We should be acquainted, you and I." Her gaze sharpened, and Katie wanted to shudder at the sight of her expression. It was hungry and demanding and despairing at once. "If you will one day take my place, I will have you run the household correctly."

"I'm not here to take your place," Katie said gently as she sat down.

Ilona grasped Katie's wrist in a tight grip, perfectly manicured nails digging into the underside of her skin. "The Manor needs a Mistress, and every Flint must have an heir."

"Let go of me," Katie told her through grit teeth. When Ilona didn't seem to respond, Katie peeled off her fingers, one at a time, from her wrist. "You are a strange, lonely woman," she muttered under her breath.

Ilona clasped her hands in her lap as if nothing had happened. "Shells are wonderful things," she told Katie with a nod.

"What?"

"Shells are hollow," Ilona continued, nodding. Apple had poured the tea and was patiently standing beside the roaring fire in the parlor. "They are hollow and empty, can't ever be filled up. Nobody can fill the emptiness, and nobody will be there to clean your wounds."

"What are you talking about? Should we call for a Healer?"

"Depending on someone else will bring you nothing but more pain and emptiness and frustration." Ilona looked at Katie with empty eyes. "It doesn't ever help becoming their broken wind up doll. They always leave you in the end. Always."

Katie shivered. "I think I need to go."

"Don't leave. Don't leave the grounds, or they'll take you. They'll take you, spring the trap, they're going to break you both to pieces. Don't be a thing of stitches and twine."

Katie shivered again and stood, ignoring the piping hot tea and the roaring fire. She couldn't shake the chills rolling down her spine at the words from this broken woman. "I need to go now."

Ilona picked up her teacup and sipped at it delicately. "Apple, escort Miss Katie out, will you? I'm sure she has somewhere important to be." Ilona looked up with empty eyes. "It's all right my dear. Don't be sad. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to show your fear to the ghosts if you must. We're all hollow here." Her smile was a stretching of lips, her eyes remaining blank and soulless. "It's the price of belonging to the right side, I'm afraid." She turned back to the tea and took a sip. "Marcus will return, you'll see. He's a good boy. He's the only one that's come back."

Katie fled the room and buried herself beneath the covers in Marcus' bed. She was supposed to be brave and strong, and she had promised she was fierce enough to teach the remnants of the DA what to do to get them through the war. Right then, she realized she had been a child playing at being a warrior.

 

***  
***


	4. Confessions

Katie must have fallen asleep. When she woke, Marcus had his arms around her and she had her back full against his front. She made to move out of his grasp but he pulled her back tightly against him. "Oh, you're up," she said lamely. She turned and looked at him with a troubled expression. His face was carefully blank, more like a mask. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course there is," he replied, but made no move to explain himself. He simply laid there on his side, shirtless if not naked, an arm hovering over her torso almost possessively. She was still wearing the green dress from earlier.

"I met your mother," Katie murmured almost hesitantly. "She's..."

"Not right," he finished for her when she couldn't. "I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do it."

There was something about the clipped words and the blank face that pulled Katie in. She touched his face, tracing the edge of his lips almost tenderly. "What happened?"

"She watched my father be tortured and killed," he said, shrugging as if it didn't matter. The hand over her stomach was heavy, sliding over to grasp her hip tightly. He had learned not to react, she realized suddenly. He learned to give nothing away. Those pranks on the pitch, the hateful words about the game, all of it had been just a cover for what was really happening.

"Were you there? She said you were," Katie murmured. "But a lot of what she said didn't make sense, either."

"No, she doesn't always," he said. He propped himself up on one elbow and practically hovered over her, his hand on her hip almost painfully tight. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Is that going to happen to me?" Katie murmured. "Am I going to go around the bend like that from being locked in here?"

His eyes were dark and stormy, his craggy features still a mask otherwise. "They tortured him for not giving up the Manor, for saving our birthright for us. She tried to intervene. After the Cruciatus, they Stunned her and made her watch. They used Cruciatus until he shredded his vocal cords screaming. Then they cut him to ribbons and let him bleed to death." Katie had grabbed hold of his arm, squeezing tightly. "Yes, I was there. He told me not to move, and I didn't. I didn't move, I didn't react, and when they were done and they left, I cleaned up the mess and put my mother to bed and lied to her that Dad was fine."

"How old were you?" she whispered, horrified.

"Fourteen. The war began a lot earlier than you think it did."

"And your brothers? She said..."

"It doesn't matter, does it?" he asked tiredly.

"She thinks I'm your betrothed," Katie told him, still squeezing his arm almost desperately. "And that you're saving me from something horrible, and that I can't ever leave."

"Are you opposed to that?" he asked in a low tone.

"What in bloody hell is going on?" she asked, hitting his chest. "Why am I even here?"

"I told you. They would have hurt you." He pulled on her hip so that she was flush beneath him now. "They would have tortured you. Maybe they would have done all those horrible things you've heard about. They're winning, Katie. Your precious savior ran, and they're winning. You can't fight them on this and not be killed."

_Why do you care?_ she wanted to ask. She grasped the forearm that carried the Dark Mark, that ugly tattoo that meant death. "I have to. I can't just sit there and let it happen."

"I won't let you," he growled at her.

"Why not?" she challenged. "What am I to you? Why go through all this?"

He lowered himself on top of her and kissed her roughly, his hands threaded through her hair. Katie reached up to grasp his shoulders, to push him back and break the kiss. He grabbed her hands and held them against the bed on either side of her head. He pushed himself up, breaking the kiss. His eyes were stormy as he looked down at her. "You're mine, Katie Bell," he growled at her. "Whether you knew it or not, you were always mine."

"You can't be serious."

"Absolutely serious."

"But... why?"

It had been the way she watched him overlong, the way her eyes had tracked him, the way she had taunted him, the way she had always given chase on the pitch, the way her eyes had sparkled. He didn't want to see the innocence in her die, didn't want to see her blood spilled across the floor because of her Gryffindor idealistic stupidity. She didn't know how this world was changing, how it worked now. She didn't know, and it would grind her to bits. It wasn't a single reason, but a thousand little things that didn't make any logical sense at all.

"Does it matter why?" he countered, hovering over her. "You're staying here in the Manor. You _won't_ leave it."

"Why not? What would happen if I did?"

"You can't," he said with finality. "We pulled the Manor out of reality just a little bit, just enough that it couldn't be found ever again. And only those keyed to it can apparate in and out. The floo doesn't work, most owls can't find us in here. It was the only way to keep it safe."

"And if I tried to get off the grounds?"

"It broke what was left of Mum's mind," Marcus hissed at her. "Don't do it."

Katie barely suppressed a shiver. She still didn't understand why she was so important to him, why he was so determined to keep her out of the war. It was one thing to keep her away from Death Eater notice and to rescue her when she would have been punished severely. This was too much, and her look at him clearly said so.

He simply kissed her again, desperation and longing and desire all mixed into it. He was rough about the edges, rather like a raw granite statue that hadn't gone through a sanding or polishing phase before presentation. But there was more to him than she had ever given him credit for, more in those eyes than she had ever thought possible. Without even thinking about it, she spread her legs and let him settle between them. He let go of her hands to cradle her, and broke the kiss to simply hold her, his lips at her temple. "I won't let them take you, too."

She remembered that his other brothers were all dead, as well as two sisters-in-law. Ilona had said that he was the one to find the bodies that he could, and took care of it. He took care of everything. "What happened to your brothers?" she asked gently, her arms around him.

"They're dead," he said flatly. "That's all you need to know."

"But..."

"They're dead, their wives and potential children are dead. They're all dead. It's just us here in this house. That's all that's left."

"Potential children...?"

"Velma was seven months pregnant when they killed her with Phineas. Constance was two months pregnant, so no one outside the family knew. It was an object lesson for Nathan. It obviously didn't take." His voice was flat and dead, and Katie could only press her lips against his shoulder and hold him close. "It's just us here. We're all that's left."

Katie didn't comment on how hollow his voice sounded, how pained he must have felt. "I won't leave the grounds," she promised.

"Good," he said, nodding. He settled on top of her, arms around her. She pulled the covers up to his shoulders and settled in to sleep.

***

Katie woke up alone, and there was no indication that Marcus had ever been there. She looked around the room. It looked exactly as it had the day before and the day before that. She got up and checked all the drawers. She never had any indication of whether Marcus actually took his clothes out when she was around the manor, or if house elves merely got them for him. To her surprise, however, the top drawer of the dresser now had underthings for her. The one beneath it still had Marcus' clothing. Katie flung open the closet, and there were the dresses she had worn since her arrival, and the Hogwarts uniform was cleaned and folded neatly at the top of the shelf. With shaking fingers, she grasped it and checked the pockets. Her DA coin was still there in the pocket, still active. Katie clutched it in her fist and put the uniform back up on the shelf. She would have to find a way to get a wand to apparate herself out of Flint Manor to help when she could.

The library had more books than Katie would have expected, though she really knew nothing about Marcus, nothing that truly counted. He could make her body sing, and he was protecting her from _something,_ but Katie didn't know what made him tick, not really. Talking to Ilona did nothing but make her feel ill somehow, as if afraid she would wind up as broken as the older woman.

Katie pulled down various books on spells and charms for protection. She read through them more for something to do than actual interest, and the house elves brought her food and tea at mealtimes. She went back up to Marcus' room to sleep, and repeated everything again the next morning.

The days blurred together. Most days, she read in the library, learning more defense than she had in all her days at Hogwarts. Or maybe she appreciated it more than she had at Hogwarts. Some days, Ilona found her during her wanderings about the Manor. Katie then had to endure painful nonsensical talks, had to sit there as Ilona alluded to her husband's murder and her children's deaths. Katie had to agree that Marcus was a good son for protecting Ilona this way and for keeping Katie safe.

Her galleon still worked, even if she was somewhere hard to find. Her gut clenched at the messages coming through it. The galleon still notified for DA meeting times, but messages along the sides told of other students getting hurt or going missing. Katie's name was among the missing. There was no way for her to alter her coin and let others know she was safe, no way to find out what else was happening.

Marcus found her in the library when she was reading through books on attack spells. "I didn't take you for a Ravenclaw," he remarked.

Katie threw down the book and rushed at him. "It's been a month! A full on month with no idea what happened to you, and--"

He kissed her full on the mouth to stop her rambling. His arms tightened around her, and he pushed his tongue into her mouth. She didn't resist him, and stood dazed in his embrace when the kiss ended.

"Too dangerous to send word or come back," he said softly. "Mum is already asleep for the night."

"But it's early yet," Katie protested.

Marcus backed her toward the couch and tipped her back toward it. "She looked tired and went to bed. The elves won't wake her."

Katie watched with large eyes as he knelt in front of her, hands sliding beneath the skirt of her dress. "This can't keep happening. I don't even know you," she tried to protest.

"I'm keeping you safe. You belong to me. What's there to know?" he asked stubbornly.

Katie thumped his shoulder hard. "Everything! Why you're doing this, where my wand is, what my poor parents think..." Her voice trailed off as his fingers brushed against the inside of her thigh. "Oh, that's not fair."

"I'm Slytherin," he replied.

"I'm not some delicate doll to shut away," she gasped as his fingers sought her center.

He pulled her forward, pushing the skirt of the dress up and dropping his pants to his knees. "No. But they will kill you if you keep doing you were doing, and I won't allow that." Marcus sank deeply into her, and Katie gasped at the feel of him. She clutched at him almost desperately as he pulled her tighter against him as he rocked, slowly at first. "I won't let them kill you."

"You've left me here with nothing to do."

Marcus nearly growled as he pushed even deeper inside of her. He had one hand at her hips and tangled the other hand in her hair. "You're safe and you'll live."

"I'd rather," she gasped, arching against him in pleasure, "be armed and ready. I'd rather try to help you. I can fight."

He didn't want to mention the fact that she had been caught so easily, that she could have been raped and killed if he hadn't claimed her as his. Marcus had to keep her safe, had to make sure she remained alive. If she was alive, he would be all right. He would do whatever was asked of him, whatever he had to do to keep her safe.

Katie came, curling her body around his and gasping for air. Marcus withdrew and positioned her on her hands and knees, then took her from behind, his hands on her hips keeping her tightly in place. "You can't," she gasped, fingers digging into the carpet. He felt good, too good, and whatever protest she had been meaning to make flew right out of her head. "Marcus!" she cried, body tightening around him. She was close, so close, and she could feel him twitch and jerk inside of her. He grunted, moving faster, and Katie came again, clamping down tight around him. Now Marcus came with a groan.

Delicately, Marcus helped to lower her to the floor and curled up next to her. "It's good to see you," he murmured. She had no idea what it took to get him home, and as far as he was concerned, it should stay that way.

But Katie wasn't having it. She crawled over him, straddling him and pushing his hands down on either side of his head. "You can't just show up and shag me like that's all I'm here for," she told him, finally able to get out what she had been trying to say before. "I'm not like that, and I won't have you turn me into that."

Marcus narrowed his eyes at her and threaded his fingers through hers. He shifted his hips slightly. "You won't, eh?"

"No. I'm a good girl," Katie told him seriously, banging his hands into the carpet for emphasis. "I'm not letting you just use me this way."

He moved quickly, unsettling her and turning her onto her back beneath him. "And how do you propose to _make_ me?" he asked, voice low and dangerous. It was a tone that unnerved many a Death Eater.

Katie refused to be cowed by him. "I won't let you shag me, you great pillock. I've let you every time."

"And what's to stop me from just _taking_ you?"

"If you were that kind of man, you'd've done so back at Hogwarts. You'd've done so here when I thought it was what you were going to do." Katie worked a hand free and pushed at his chest. "You aren't like that, or you wouldn't have brought me to a place you keep your Mum."

"How do you _know?"_ he asked, gaze intent on her face. "You know nothing about me..."

"And you don't let me find out," Katie interrupted tartly. "I'm not daft. I can figure out bits. You just won't tell me the rest of it."

"Best if you stay out of it," he growled.

"No," she challenged, jaw thrust out stubbornly. "Tell me. Let me do _something_ other than rot here."

"You'll stay here where it's safe and that's final," Marcus snarled at her. "You don't know how it is and it'll stay that way for your own good."

Katie shoved at his chest. "You blithering _idiot._ I knew what I was getting into when I joined the DA. You can't suddenly decide what's good for me. You haven't the right!"

Marcus wound his hand in her hair and stretched himself on top of her, pressing down with his weight to keep her in place. "You belong to me, Katie. Now and forever. You're _mine._ I will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe, to keep you and Mum here alive. _Don't ask me."_

Katie threw off his weight as best as she could and rolled on top of him. He didn't fight it. "I need to know," she said quietly. "I can take it. I'm not that fragile."

"I killed Muggles tonight," he told her bluntly. "And a few other nights, too. Tortured them in front of their children, then killed the children. Or tortured the children while parents watched, until they begged for death. Whatever they asked of me, I did. They'll never question me, never ask about my dedication. They'll never have reason to come here. _Do you understand me?"_

She had heard the bleak, haunted tone in his voice. He clearly hadn't wanted to, but saw no other choice. "And if they do want to come here?" she asked quietly.

"They will _never."_ Marcus growled at her fiercely, shaking his head. "Never."

"You must have a plan..."

"Mum is ill, everyone knows that. No one asks."

Katie almost felt sorry for him. She could still see the dutiful son in him, caring for his mad mother, quietly disposing of his father's and brothers' bodies so that she wouldn't have to. Somehow Katie had gotten tangled up in his sense of duty, and now she was someone to protect. "I'm not that fragile," she told him quietly. "I want to fight."

"I won't let you. The elves won't give you your wand."

Katie had been wondering; various requests so far had been met with blank stares. "This has to end sometime."

"Your side isn't winning," Marcus told her. "Potter's gone, no one knows where he is and people are dying. Your side is _losing,_ Katie... I won't lose you in that."

She wondered if he was afraid to love, afraid to ever admit to needing anyone. She wondered if she could love someone she barely knew. She worried for him, looked forward to his arrival, thrilled at his touch and dreamed of him at night. Was that love? Was it something close enough or just something developing because he was the only one that knew she was alive?

She was a Gryffindor for a reason. "I love you, too."

He stilled at the words, eyes wide and unreadable. "Don't," he replied darkly. "Don't love me."

"Why not?"

"I've buried just about everyone that did. I'm not burying you, you absentminded fool."

Katie leaned down and kissed his mouth. "Not my intention, Marcus. I can help. I've been studying a bit in my free time, since I've so much of it now," she told him cheekily. "All sorts of interesting things I've been learning." Katie rolled off of him. "And since you've reduced me to being a Muggle, I have to go wash up. You left me sticky."

Marcus had been almost stunned, but had to laugh at the last bit. Maybe he didn't have to worry about her quite as much as he had thought.

She still wasn't getting her wand back, and she still wasn't leaving. He cared for her, but he wasn't stupid.

***  
***


	5. Hiding

There were still DA meetings, but nothing Katie could do would make the elves turn over her wand. She also went looking for it, but couldn't find it. Flint Manor was a large home, and there was any number of hiding places throughout the building.

Ilona caught her snooping in one room. "This belonged to Velma, dear. You don't belong here."

Katie straightened up slowly and shook out the dress' skirt. The elves had set out a dark brown dress that day, almost matching her hair. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ilona rushed forward and grasped her arms. "Velma, you have to hide."

"Er..." Katie began, stymied as to what she should call Ilona. She had long since stopped trying to correct Ilona.

"Quick, they mustn't find you, or you and the baby will suffer. You have to hide. None of those Gryffindor antics now. Too many lives at stake!"

Ilona pushed Katie along with surprising strength. Katie had no idea where they were going or what had happened. Marcus hadn't mentioned this much, hadn't even said his mother had been present. Ilona also hadn't given much indication that she had been there, either.

"They mustn't find you in the nursery," Ilona was saying, speaking almost too rapidly to follow. "They'll tear it out of you, dangle it in front of you. Don't ask how I know. Just promise me you won't do anything foolish, Velma." Ilona pinched Katie's arm hard enough to bruise. _"Promise me!"_

"I promise," Katie choked out.

Ilona dragged her into another room and opened the closet. She pushed a hidden lever Katie wouldn't have found otherwise and the back panel slid open. Katie was shoved inside, and Ilona pulled the panel shut after her.

It was dark and musty. Velma obviously broke her promise, because she was dead. So was the child she had been carrying.

So how did she get out?

Katie felt along the walls and floor of the hidden compartment. Luckily, she wasn't claustrophobic and there were no ghosts in Flint Manor. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of any Flint dead hovering about the halls in unrest. She would rather think that death brought them a measure of peace instead.

Katie brushed her fingers over the bottom of the panel, pulling at whatever latches she felt. The panel popped out of its frame, and Katie shoved it aside. She stepped out into the closet and pulled it shut after her. Katie carefully stepped out of the closet and looked around. She hadn't looked through this particular room yet. The was closed, and Katie supposed that Ilona had gone off wherever she went during the day. Katie hadn't figured out where that would be.

Looking around the room, it had been stripped of most items that would identify whose room it would be. It was a large suite, one that looked like it had been shared by a couple. Katie stood stock still when she saw the bassinet in the corner, still waiting for a baby to sleep in it.

Even if there weren't ghosts floating down the halls, they still existed for Ilona. And by extension, Katie as well.

***

Katie stirred in her sleep, not sure what woke her. She stretched and rolled over, and noticed Marcus sitting beside her. She made a sleepy noise and reached for him, touching his face. "What's new?" she asked, half asleep.

Marcus smiled at her faintly, his hand cradling her jaw. "I'm here, Katie." He almost hadn't made it and wasn't sure how much time he had. Marcus ran his hand down along her neck and Katie shifted in bed to give him better access. He chuckled and playfully suckled a breast through her nightgown. He hiked up the edge of it with his other hand and she let out a content sigh. Marcus laughed. "Like that, do you?"

"Everything you do," she told him with a sleepy smile.

He smirked at her and slid his hand between her thighs. He almost laughed outright when she opened her legs wider to give him more room. Still, the sight of her welcoming him comforted him. He didn't have words for the feeling. He went back to suckling a breast, now sliding fingers along her damp folds. Katie wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him in place as she began to arch into his touch. He worked her gently, until she was panting and writhing, them moved faster against her. Katie bucked her hips against his hand, mewling softly until she came.

"Come to bed," she murmured once she noticed he was still sitting beside her. Marcus shed the last of his clothing then crawled in under the covers. He hovered over her, and Katie grasped him, stroking softly. "You should tell me how bad it was," he said softly. "I shouldn't have to guess by how frantic you are to bed me," she murmured.

"Nothing to tell," he told her stubbornly. "I just follow orders."

"You didn't follow them with me," Katie replied.

"They didn't give me specific orders," Marcus countered. "I play it off as I'm thick and dull, and I don't get it unless it's spelled out in order what needs to be done. If it's spelled out, I do it."

"And this time?" Katie gasped as he sank deeply inside of her. "What were the instructions this time?"

"Had to check on the prisoners at Malfoy Manor. Had to make sure they're alive and well."

Luna. According to the DA coin, Luna had been held there for months.

"And are they?" she gasped.

Marcus thrust harder, eyes sliding shut at the feel of her tight around him. "Yeah. Doin' okay. Fed better'n they've been in a while."

Katie ran her nails down his back. she was close, so close, gasping for breath and arching into his thrusts. She let out a strangled cyr as she came, body clamping down tighter around him. Marcus came with a groan and collapsed down on top of her.

"It's good that you're helping where you can," Katie told him, running her fingers through his hair.

"I'm no hero," he told her solemnly. "And don't make me out to be one."

"No, you're not a hero," she agreed. "But you're not evil, either. I couldn't love you if you were."

"You shouldn't," he told her heavily. _I haven't earned it._

"It's not like I planned it."

"So stop it. Just take it as comfort or something..."

Katie shook her head. "I'm not like that. I only wanted to with you... When I knew I was safe with you." She pressed her lips to his temple and stroked his hair gently. "There's more to you than you think."

"Don't believe more of that romantic shite than you can help," he intoned.

"I won't tell anyone," Katie whispered. There was no one to tell anyway.

He grunted and settled in to sleep on top of her. He was sure he could have that luxury before he was needed again. He snuggled in tight, feeling Katie wrap her arms around him.

If he didn't have her and his mother to care for in all this, he would've long since gone insane.

***

Katie wanted to stretch out as she woke, but her arms collided with something. She opened her eyes and Marcus was there, head propped up in his hand, half hovering as he leaned against his elbow. "You were watching me sleep?" Marcus nodded. "Why?"

"I don't get to see you as often as I'd like," he murmured. "Might as well take the opportunity while I have it." He traced the edge of her jaw. "It's not too often that they don't have some use for me. I'm so _devoted_ after all," he told her with a sneer. "I tend to get the shite no one else wants to do."

"Because you don't say no."

"Because I can't say no."

Katie didn't correct him. He had too much to lose if he was wrong. "What do people think happened to me?" she asked quietly. Other than the first reports on the DA galleon, it hadn't ever mentioned her name again.

"They think you're dead," Marcus told her, voice quiet. It was hard for Katie to tell what he was feeling. "Your parents even had a memorial service. They go about dressed in black and they don't fight curfew anymore."

Katie pressed her lips together and her eyes watered. "You keep track of them, then?"

"They're safe. The others think I've killed you. Or simply left you somewhere to rot. You weren't high enough on their priority list to require a body as proof, so I didn't need to find one."

Make one, he meant. Katie shivered under his gaze. "So my parents think I'm dead."

"I won't take messages," he told her sternly. "They're safer this way. They were agitated at first, making waves. It was going to get them the wrong kind of attention from the Ministry."

"They went to the Ministry?"

"They didn't think anyone was doing anything about your missing persons report."

"Were they?"

"No. You were in my custody. The Ministry is really run by Death Eaters or sympathizers at this point. No one was ever going to look."

"Did you tell my parents to stop looking?" Katie whispered.

"I may have," Marcus conceded. He had actually taken them aside to tell them to plan a memorial service. _She's safer dead to you than alive,_ he had told them, special wards around them. The Bells weren't stupid, and Mrs. Bell had grabbed his arm tightly. It had reminded him of Katie's grasp. Before she could ask him anything, he had cut her off. _Hold a service and you won't draw any more attention to yourselves._

Mr. Bell had carefully peeled Katie's mother's fingers from Marcus' arm. He didn't say a word, but nodded at Marcus. He wrapped an arm around Mrs. Bell, who had started to cry. _Thank you for your honesty,_ he had said, almost loud enough to carry. _We had been hoping she would be found somehow..._

Marcus shook his head at them, and watched them leave the Ministry. A week later had been the service. He hadn't dared return to Flint Manor for another week after that just to be sure. He couldn't chance _any_ suspicion falling on him.

Katie cupped his cheek with a hand. "Thank you."

"Wouldn't do for them to get themselves killed for nothing," he told her gruffly. "Waste of everyone's time."

She smiled through her tears. "Of course. Efficient one, you are. Thanks just the same."

He nodded and turned to kiss her palm. "You look like your Mum," he said softly. "A bit of your dad about the eyes."

"You noticed?" Katie asked, surprised.

He'd only been keeping an eye on them for weeks. Of course he'd notice. Marcus merely rolled his eyes at her.

"You don't look much like your Mum," Katie murmured. "More like your Dad in that one remaining portrait."

"Yes, well, Mum forgot about that one and doesn't look there."

"She confused me with Velma."

Marcus nodded grimly. "She would."

"Because I look like her?"

"Not really. But you both are brunette and you're wearing her clothes." Marcus watched as that sank in. "Did something happen?"

"She locked me in a closet's hidden panel."

Marcus' jaw tightened. "She was having a bad day, then."

"Velma didn't stay locked in there, either, did she?"

"No, she didn't. The fool woman thought she could help my brother and wound up dead."

All the more reason why he would be strict with her. All the more reason why he was convinced she couldn't help. It made sense.

"You miss them," Katie murmured softly, rubbing his chest absently. "Come on, then. We ought to have breakfast with your Mum. It'll help her feel better, I think. She's scary most of the time, wandering about the place like a ghost."

Marcus grasped Katie about the waist and rolled on top of her. "When I have a morning I could have you for breakfast in?"

"Be nice to your Mum," Katie teased. "All she talks about is how good you are and how much of a dutiful son you are."

His face blanked. "Yes. Yes, I suppose I am."

"Don't shut me out like that, Marcus sodding Flint," Katie snapped, irritated.

He blinked. "It's not like you know, either."

"Yes, but you've told me bits. And I don't intend on being a new ghost about these hallways."

"I don't want you to be," he told her fiercely. "When they've had their final victory and don't need me any longer, we'll be fine. We'll be safe."

_We._ Perhaps he thought more highly of her than he was willing to admit.

"I want to do more than just sit here waiting for you."

Marcus glowered at Katie, but she could ignore that. She knew where it came from a bit better now. If she had been anything other than Gryffindor, he might have allowed a bit more leeway. "You can watch over my Mum," he said. "Make sure she's all right."

"She thinks I'm a dead woman."

"She likes you. Last time I talked to her, she said she likes you."

"I let her ramble."

"She has some good days."

"Mostly when you're about."

"Not always."

Katie had no answer for that dark tone. No, Ilona didn't always have good days. "How long can you stay?"

"I don't know."

"Stay for breakfast with your Mum. She'd like that."

"If you're there," Marcus finally conceded.

"Where else would I be?" Katie said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, yes. That's right. I have a hot date with a house elf," she snarked.

"Bite your tongue, woman."

Katie merely grinned unrepentantly. "Make me."

He kissed her fiercely, tongue sliding into her mouth. She melted beneath him, and he rolled on top of her. He slid a hand down between her thighs, fingering her lightly. Her breath fractured in her throat, and she arched against him. Grinning, Marcus slid a finger inside of her, teasing her as their tongues dueled. This kind of fight he could allow. This kind of questioning was fine. He couldn't allow her any latitude, or she would find a way out and head to the thick of things. Once she was there, he had no control over anything. He could lose her in an eye blink, and he didn't even want to think about that.

He hadn't planned on this. It had been all of a sudden, an impulsive move he couldn't explain. Now, it didn't matter. He had to keep her safe. She was another reason to come home in one piece, to never let his loyalties be questioned.

Katie writhed beneath him, one hand tangled in his hair and the other at his back. Her hips bucked beneath his hand, and she had to draw breath in shallow gasps. "Marcus," she moaned, head thrown back when their kiss broke.

Marcus kissed his way down her neck and took a breast into his mouth. Katie's breath hissed in through her teeth, and he smiled as he sucked. If he distracted her often enough, she might lose interest in leaving. Maybe.

He made her come with his hands and mouth at least twice before he made any move to actually enter her. Once he did, she made a soft sigh of contentment. This quickly turned to soft gasps of pleasure, then keening noises as she met his thrusts and raked her nails down his back. He growled at the sensation, thrusting harder. It was only fair that she mark her territory, given that he did the same. He had seen the marks on her hips, little scratches he hadn't realized he'd given her. He hadn't realized she bruised easily, either. It was enough to make him wonder how she tolerated getting injured on the Quidditch pitch.

Marcus came, and had to stroke her clit to finish her as well. Katie lay beneath him prone, panting for breath. She had a silly grin on her face, one that tugged at him. If he had a heart, it might've been affected by that smile.

"I'll let you rest up a bit," he told her as he withdrew. "I'll shower and dress, then meet you for breakfast with Mum."

"Or I can join you?" she asked playfully.

The shower easily took three times as long as usual with her in it with him, but it was infinitely more enjoyable. Even better, Ilona was having a good day. She greeted the both of them by their proper names and chatted about her gardens and what she planned for lunch and dinner that day. Marcus bowed out of meals because of work, but Katie had no good excuse.

Just when Marcus would have apparated out, Katie caught him. He met her eyes as he raised his wand. "You aren't coming with me," he told her.

There was something almost painful in her expression. "Where could I go? They all think I'm dead."

"You're safer this way," he told her sternly.

"What kind of life is this for us, then?" she asked, voice breaking.

"You're _safe,_ Katie. Too many others aren't. Keep my Mum company, will you? Maybe then she'll have more good days."

Katie watched as he apparated away and tried not to feel bitter. Some fighter she turned out to be.

***  
***


	6. The Final Battle

Ilona was in the garden when Katie found her that afternoon. She was pruning her roses, humming and singing at intervals. "Ah. Katie. Isn't it a lovely day today?"

It was perpetual spring wherever the Manor was, frozen in that moment the Flint brothers managed to shift it out of the flow of time. Katie smiled at her. "It is. Can I help?"

"Oh, dear me, yes. Seems like they get wilder and wilder every day. Have to prune it back, or we'd be caught inside like Briar Rose," Ilona chirped.

"Sleeping Beauty, you mean?" Katie asked.

"Well, she had a name."

"I don't think I heard that version growing up."

"Too bad. All of the old tales were darker and had more meaning. Too scary for children today. But they held more truth, I think. My departed husband liked to read the older tales to the boys. We still have the books about somewhere."

"He read fairy tales to the boys?" Katie asked, grinning.

"Oh, all children need stories, dear. I should show you where I keep the books. That way, you can read them to your children. I know Marcus will be just like his father."

Katie's blood ran cold. Marcus. And no prophylactic potion. She had been here for something like two to three months, closer to three. She couldn't even remember her last period, though it had always been erratic due to sports. What if...

If she was, so be it. Ilona would be thrilled. That lonely bassinet in that bedroom would finally be filled. And honestly, there were worse fates than becoming the mother to Marcus Flint's children. She could be dead or tortured or worse, and she did love Marcus anyway.

Ilona handed Katie a pair of shears. "Here you are. Let's trim this row back while the weather holds."

Katie smiled at Ilona. "All right. Show me what to do."

***

The DA coin told of danger and a fierce battle. She hadn't seen Marcus in two weeks and only knew he was alive by the fact that Ilona hadn't gone completely insane. She had a charmed bracelet, and the only live charm on it was linked to Marcus. When he died, the charm would stop glowing. So far, it continued to glow at a steady rhythm.

Katie had done quite a bit of gardening and reading and idle chatter with Ilona. It was enough to make her feel almost ill for sitting so still. With the coin, however, Katie knew she had to do _something._

First things first. She had the house elves create a magical rainstorm to "water the roses," she had lied. They did this readily enough. Ilona was disappointed that the lovely weather hadn't held, but looked forward to the riot of flower that inevitably would follow.

"You know, I seem to have misplaced my wand," Katie told Ilona, heart pounding in her chest. She wondered if the woman could hear it and _know_ she was plotting something Marcus wouldn't approve of. "Could I perhaps borrow yours? I can take care of the pruning for you with a few impervious charms."

Ilona brightened. "Such a wonderful idea, Katie. Of course you can borrow it."

Katie managed not to crow with delight at the feel of a wand in hand after nearly four months without one. "You rest up and take tea. I'll take care of everything."

Smiling absently, Ilona went off to wander through the Manor as she used to do.

Katie went to the same spot Marcus apparated from. She wasn't sure if the wards were keyed to the person apparating or the location. Hopefully it would recognize Ilona's wand and not splinch her.

She wound up apparating straight to the Great Hall. She looked around in wonder. She'd made it, all of her intact, and was outside Flint Manor.

She was also inside a battlefield.

Katie ducked behind debris and tried to figure out just where everyone was. She saw a flash of Weasley red and followed it, absurdly grateful that the twins were there. They were pranksters but took their magic seriously, and shone like a beacon in the sea of faces. Where they were, the DA couldn't be too far behind.

Katie used several of the new spells she had learned from the Flint library, putting in practical expertise for the first time. They went off perfectly, Death Eaters falling to the ground with every spell. At first she thought she might hit Marcus by accident, but he would no doubt bellow once he saw her. She was confident she would find him.

And at one point, she did see him. He had no mask on his face, and was pushing back some of the older students. Katie noted that he didn't use any Unforgivables or serious spells as some other Death Eaters were. In fact, if he was alone with one, he invariably attacked the Death Eater from behind. They would fall and not get back up.

At one point, Marcus didn't realize he wasn't quite alone. He felled one Death Eater, but another saw. That one advanced a bit closer, wand outstretched. "Av-"

"Marcus! Duck!" Katie shrieked.

He did exactly that, spinning around and catching that Death Eater in the face with a particularly nasty cutting spell. He glowered in Katie's direction but couldn't get to her easily. Considering he was still alive, she only grinned at him.

She lost track of him twice during the fighting and couldn't find him during the pause. There were heavy losses on both sides, painful losses that twisted and burned in Katie's gut. They looked up with glassy eyes and slack jaws out of ruined, bloody faces. She could look at them and feel the fear that Marcus held for her. She could be one of those lost souls. She could be the dead one for Marcus to grieve.

And then it was over.

Katie stopped the Order members when she saw them hauling an unresisting Marcus away from the Great Hall. "Oi! Don't take him! He was helping you during the battle!"

"I'm sorry, miss..."

"I'm Katie Bell," she told the man imperiously. "He saved me the entire time everyone thought I was dead."

"Katie..." he began in a warning tone.

"No, it's not fair! You kept me safe and you blasted those Death Eaters and you refused to hurt the students. It has to count for something!" Katie insisted, ignoring his glower.

"Katie, shut it," he growled at her. "How are you even here?"

She held up Ilona's wand. "Your Mum thinks I'm in the gardens pruning the roses."

"You _lied_ to Mum?" he asked, incredulous.

"Well, yes. I needed a wand to apparate. But what's this? Not even fighting? Not telling them what happened? Do you mean to tell me, Marcus Flint, that you'd let yourself get tossed to Azkaban for the rest of eternity and not even tell me or your poor Mum?" she cried, her voice rising toward the end. The two Aurors escorting Marcus flinched as Katie did a good impression of a shrewish fishwife.

"If you had any sense at all," Marcus hissed, "you'd go right back where it's safe. These two are taking me in for _questioning,_ and there are still plenty of other Death Eaters about that will happily kill you. And despite how I feel right this second, I still want you alive!"

Katie made a huffing sound and crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose I'll just have to be brought along with you, then."

"Now, see here, Miss Bell. This is highly irregular. I must insist you stop," one of the Order members said firmly. "This man is being brought into the Ministry for questioning. You can be called upon later for evidence if you insist, but we really must be on our way."

"I'll go with him. I don't trust Marcus not to convince you to leave me out of it by making some grand sacrifice."

Marcus snorted. "That's a Gryffindor trait, Katie. I'm Slytherin. Completely different."

The Order member shook his head. "If you're going to be this difficult, then, you're _both_ coming in for questioning."

It took the better part of a week, multiple pensieve viewings and the judicious use of vitaserum, but Marcus Flint was ultimately given probation and a hefty fine for his activities as a Death Eater. It was difficult to say if Katie's testimony swayed any opinion, but Marcus was secretly glad that she had been there to give it. The Order didn't seem inclined to believe him, even with vitaserum or the direct perusal of his memories. He had laid himself bare, and he knew he still disgusted them. It was easy for them to believe in their ideals with only the challenge of unjust laws and a Dark Lord. It was more difficult to face a family's annihilation otherwise, even if they didn't seem to want to believe it.

The Bells also stood up for him, once they met Katie. They confirmed he was the one advising them to hold Katie's memorial service, hinting it was the only way they could survive the regime. They were glad that he had been willing to save Katie, glad that he loved her enough to do the difficult thing to keep her safe.

It was tacit approval he almost choked to hear. How did he suddenly come across as some kind of a sentimental fool?

But Katie was coming home with him after the hearings, if only to return Ilona's wand and take care of the gardens as she promised. That had to be it. Now that he didn't have any hold on her, what reason did she have to stay?

Katie smiled at Marcus when he found her in the gardens beside his mother, pruning the roses. "Hullo, Marcus. Join us, will you? It's a lovely day today. Your Mum was just telling me about that time your dad put these roses in."

Ilona brightened at the sight of him and continued talking. Marcus came closer, taking in the dirt on Katie's dress where she knelt in the garden, the shears in her hand and the way she smiled at him as if he was the only thing she could see. "So you really do want to stay?" he murmured as he knelt beside her, Ilona chattering on beside them, oblivious.

"Of course, you big prat. What? Did you think I was going to leave you the first chance I got?"

Marcus' pained silence was answer enough.

"Oh, you idiot," Katie murmured, leaning in to kiss his cheek gently as she put down her shears. "Sometimes you are a complete idiot. Didn't I already tell you I loved you?"

"I also told you that you shouldn't."

"You told me not to do a lot of things. I should tell you, I'm stubborn. I'll do it anyway if I think I should. Like defending your case. Or staying with your Mum in the garden. Or telling you I love you. Or any of a thousand things like that. My parents like you," she added with a nod when Marcus was still silent. "So they're not opposed to a formal wedding."

"They aren't?" he echoed.

"Not at all. I think spring will be nice, don't you?" Katie grinned at his shocked expression. "The season's grown on me for some reason. Can't imagine why." She waved a rose in front of his face. "I think we could have plenty of flowers at the wedding. And the Manor would be a lovely place for it, don't you think? Lots of people here, lots for your Mum to plan..."

"You seem to have forgotten something, Katie," he murmured in a low tone.

She thought about it, brows furrowed. "I don't think I have."

Marcus' mouth quirked. "I haven't asked you yet."

"Formality, that. Your Mum's already planning on nursery colors."

Marcus froze. "Are you...?"

"No, amazingly enough," Katie said, shaking her head. She looked at him with an impish expression. "Care to change that?"

He couldn't help but laugh. She definitely wasn't responding the way he thought she might. He couldn't bring himself to care, though. She wanted to stay. She wanted _him._ Not because there were no other options, not because she couldn't leave, not because he wouldn't allow otherwise. She was staying because she wanted to, because she loved him, because she truly meant it. "As often as I can," he told her, leaning in for a hungry kiss on the mouth.

Katie leaned into it, responding instantly. She grinned at him when the kiss broke, mindful of his mother sitting beside them. "I'm holding you to that promise, you know."

He grinned, that odd feeling in his chest feeling something like the love he hadn't wanted to recognize. "That's good. I'd hate to think we weren't both serious about this."

"I can see you're taken care of," Ilona commented dryly, standing. "I'll let the two of you finish the roses if you care to. I for one feel parched. I'll talk with you both at dinner."

They looked at each other as Ilona retreated into the manor before breaking out into laughter. For the first time in years, Marcus felt secure in thinking of the future. And as he threaded his fingers through Katie's, he smiled. She would definitely keep him on his toes, but he knew he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

 

The End


End file.
